Claims
- 1. A method comprising:
receiving through an antenna system a first portion of a beacon frame signal via a first signal path and a second portion of said beacon frame signal via a second signal path; measuring the signal quality of said first portion of said beacon frame signal and of said second portion of said beacon frame signal; and selecting between said first signal path and said second signal path for receiving a subsequent signal, wherein said selecting is based on the signal quality of said first portion and said second portion of said beacon frame signal.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said antenna system is the steerable beam type and wherein said first signal path and said second signal path are along directionally distinct beams.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said antenna system is the diversity switching type and wherein said first signal path and said second signal path are associated with distinct antennas.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said selecting comprises:
choosing said first signal path when the signal quality of said first portion is better than the signal quality of said second portion; and choosing said second signal path when the signal quality of said second portion is better than the signal quality of said first portion.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein said measuring is performed only on every Mth received beacon frame signal, wherein M is a positive integer greater than one.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein said beacon frame signal is a transmission of a beacon frame by an access point that operates in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 specification.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein said beacon frame comprises a field for enhancing signal quality estimation.
- 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said first portion of said beacon frame signal conveys a first portion of said field and said second portion of said beacon frame signal conveys a second portion of said field.
- 9. A method comprising:
receiving through an antenna system a first portion of a field that constitutes a beacon frame via a first signal path and a second portion of said field via a second signal path; measuring the signal quality of said first portion as received via said first signal path and of said second portion as received via said second signal path; and selecting one of said first signal path and said second signal path for receiving a subsequent signal, wherein said selecting is based on the signal quality of said first portion and said second portion of said field.
- 10. The method of claim 9 wherein said antenna system is the steerable beam type and said first signal path and said second signal path are along directionally distinct beams.
- 11. The method of claim 9 wherein said antenna system is the diversity switching type and said first signal path and said second signal path are associated with distinct antennas.
- 12. The method of claim 9 wherein said selecting comprises:
choosing said first signal path when the signal quality of said first portion of said field is better than said signal quality of said second portion of said field; and choosing said second signal path when the signal quality of said second portion of said field is better than said signal quality of said first portion of said field.
- 13. The method of claim 9 wherein said local area network is in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 specification.
- 14. A method comprising:
receiving through an antenna system a first signal via a first signal path on a shared-communications channel; measuring the signal quality of said first signal; receiving a portion of a beacon frame signal via a second signal path in said shared-communications channel after said receiving of said first signal; measuring the signal quality of said portion of said beacon frame signal; and selecting between said first signal path and said second signal path for receiving a subsequent signal, wherein said selecting is based on the signal quality of said first signal and said beacon frame signal.
- 15. The method of claim 14 wherein said selecting comprises:
choosing said first signal path when the signal quality of said first signal is better than the signal quality of said beacon frame signal; and choosing said second signal path when the signal quality of said beacon frame signal is better than the signal quality of said first signal.
- 16. The method of claim 14 wherein said antenna system is the steerable beam type and wherein said first signal path and said second signal path are along directionally distinct beams.
- 17. The method of claim 14 wherein said antenna system is the diversity switching type and wherein said first signal path and said second signal path are associated with distinct antennas.
- 18. The method of claim 14 wherein said shared-communications channel constitutes a local area network that operates in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 specification.
- 19. The method of claim 14 wherein said first signal is a beacon frame transmission by an access point.
- 20. The method of claim 14 wherein said beacon frame comprises a field for enhancing signal quality estimation.
- 21. An apparatus comprising:
an antenna system for switching between a first signal path and a second signal path; a receiver for receiving a first portion of a beacon frame signal via said first signal path and a second portion of said beacon frame signal via said second signal path; and a processor for:
(i) measuring the signal quality of said first portion and said second portion of said beacon frame signal; and (ii) selecting between said first signal path and said second signal path for doing one of receiving and transmitting a subsequent signal, wherein said selecting is based on the signal quality of said first portion and said second portion of said beacon frame signal.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said antenna system is the steerable beam type and wherein said first signal path and said second signal path are along directionally distinct beams.
- 23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said antenna system is the diversity switching type and wherein said first signal path and said second signal path are associated with distinct antennas.
- 24. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said antenna system is also for providing one of said first portion and said second portion of said beacon frame signal to said receiver.
- 25. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said beacon frame signal is a transmission of a beacon frame by an access point.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein said beacon frame comprises a field for enhancing signal quality estimation.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U. S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No.: 60/455,323, entitled “Technique for Steering an Antenna System,” filed on 17 Mar. 2003, which is incorporated by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60455323 |
Mar 2003 |
US |